primitive
by AestateCantus
Summary: She says he looks primitive. He wishes she would stop caring. A follow up to False Arrow. Contains spoilers for the end of Season 1. Inspired by some leaked spoilers regarding Roy in Season 2. One sided Longshot, hints of Spitfire.


**Author's Note:** _primitive _is a follow up to _False Arrow_. It is not necessary to read _False Arrow_ before this, but it is highly encouraged.

This story is dedicated to all who have reviewed _False Arrow. _Thank you for all the positive comments!

* * *

"You look primitive." Artemis drawls, eyeing him with an arched eyebrow.

Dane Harper scowls at her, but Kaldur clarifies her point with an even, measured tone. "What she means is, why are you doing this to yourself?"

The redhead lifts a hand and runs it against his chin, rough with stubble. "Can you imagine, Roy waking up and seeing an exact duplicate of himself staring back at him?"

"I actually think he'd be more horrified at seeing a horrible version of himself staring back at him." The blond archer says bluntly. "I know I would."

"You could never look horrible, babe." Wally grins. Dane mentally agrees with him, even as he watches a blush creep up on her face and she elbows the speedster lightly, struggling to keep a serious face.

"Shouldn't we keep our minds on the mission?" She asks. "Are you sure this is where Ja- Cheshire is going to strike?"

"Positive." Dane nods. And hopefully, _hopefully goddamn_, Jade will stop flirting with him on account of how horrible he looks right now. He needs to keep his mind on the mission, and having a criminal (and the sister of the girl he still harbors a crush on) hit on him just makes things uncomfortable.

"Then we need to split up." Kaldur says, taking the helm. "Artemis, take the north; Kid Flash, west; Red Arrow, east, and I'll take the south. Alert the rest once you spot Cheshire. Stay out of sight and hidden. Do not engage any Shadows unless necessary. Remember our priority."

They all nod and activate their stealth-tech, heading off in the direction they have been allocated.

Dane leaps up a tree, hiding himself amid the foliage as he keeps a close eye on the fence surrounding STAR Labs. The com link in his ears buzzes silently as they all await Cheshire's arrival.

"She's here!" Kid Flash hisses suddenly. As he heads towards the east, he hears Cheshire speaking over the com link, teasing Wally. "What do we have here? My little sister's boyfriend wants to play, hmm?"

He tenses up. It is a fact that Wally and Artemis are dating, yes, but hearing Cheshire confirm their relationship stings.

He reaches the area and fires arrows at Cheshire which she deftly avoids, leaping out of reach of the lashes of water Aqualad directs towards her. "Hey, handsome." She smirks. "You look _absolutely_ primitive."

He growls and as she comes closer, blocks her blows with his quiver. They may be sisters, but Artemis is _different,_ and not like Cheshire, and he wonders if Cheshire is deliberately playing with him somehow. "I guess now you're really a _broken arrow_, hmm?"

The code word tenses him up slightly, though of course, with M'gann's help, that bit of programming has been erased.

Cheshire is _definitely_ playing with him.

_Remember our priority._ Kaldur's words echo in his mind.

His eyes dart sideways and grabs Cheshire's arm, flinging her into the air. Artemis fires an arrow, which Cheshire catches in mid-air, flipping her mask over her face as it releases knock-out gas. "You're not really trying, you kno-"

The assassin is cut short as a tornado of water slams into her, courtesy of Kid Flash and Aqualad. As Kid Flash stops spinning, Aqualad holds the water around her, tattoos glowing as he channels electricity into the liquid to knock her out.

Cheshire drops limp to the ground, Artemis firing a net arrow to keep her tied up. The look on the blond's face is now grim, and Wally pats her on the shoulder.

None of them speak as they haul Cheshire to a nearby prison and wait for her to awake so they can interrogate her.

Artemis leans on Wally, and he watches from a distance as the couple talk in hushed whispers.

"Are you alright?" Kaldur asks, sadness tinging his pale green eyes as he tilts his head in their direction slightly. He knows that Kaldur understands what it is like to suffer from unrequited love, from watching the girl he cares for be with someone else, and a good friend at that.

Red Arrow can only muster a weak smile, and before he can say anything to reassure his best friend, the guard tells them that Cheshire has regained consciousness.

"Please don't tell me you're doing this to gain my approval of your relationship, Artemis." Cheshire grins as they stand outside her cell.

"Cut the crap." Red Arrow snaps, folding his arms across his chest. "We want to know. Where is Roy Harper?"

Her eyes widen and a smile plays on her lips. "Isn't he standing before me right now?"

"Cheshire." Artemis grinds out.

"Ah, of course, I just remembered. Primitive caveman boy here is just. A. Clone." She says the last few words deliberately slowly, watching him closely, and he knows she's waiting for him to break, to snap.

"Besides," she says as they all glare at her, "how would I know? I don't ask questions."

"You are one of the most trusted assassins of the League of Shadows, are you not?" Aqualad points out.

Her smile widens. "This is all incredibly futile, you know."

"Is it?" Another voice breaks in, and they part in the center, as Miss Martian walks in, flanked by Superboy. Before Cheshire can even retort, M'gann's eyes glow, and the assassin arches backwards and floats into the air, eyes wide open and mouth slack in horror.

Artemis bites her lip and looks away. He wishes that he could comfort her in some way, but Wally is the only one who has the right to do so.

Instead, he tears his eyes away from her and watches M'gann do her work. "Isn't it taking a little too long?" It had taken only a mere few seconds for her to clear out all Cadmus programming in his mind before. So why...

Superboy's brow furrows, his mouth a thin line. "M'gann?"

She does not answer and when saliva starts to drool out of the side of Cheshire's mouth, everyone jerks in surprise. Superboy grabs Miss Martian first, shaking her, terror contorting his face. "M'gann!"

Artemis rushes towards the cell, hands clutching the bars as her sister crashes to the ground. "Jade!"

"What was-" Wally whispers, eyes darting nervously towards the Martian before calling out to the guard. "H-hey, we need a doctor here!"

Red Arrow glances at Aqualad, who looks as equally grim as he is. And yet, when they turn to look at M'gann, he feels a chill run down his spine at the unperturbed look on her face.

"I know where the real Roy is." She announces calmly. "I'll inform the Justice League."

Superboy looks stricken, glancing from the cell that holds Cheshire and the retreating back of his girlfriend. "Let's go." Aqualad says, gripping both Superboy and Red Arrow's arm and propelling them forward. "Artemis and Kid Flash can handle things here."

He forces himself to fall into step after them, even as Artemis yells out Jade's name in anguish behind them, even as he wants to stay and make sure she's alright.

He looks at Kaldur and through the creases his eyebrows, he can tell what he's thinking.

Their mission has been accomplished. They know where Roy is.

But at what cost?

He should have never agreed that Cheshire was their target, the one they had to extract information from to locate the real Roy. Not even when he could detect Artemis' hesitation to agree to the plan... he had been too blind and stubborn in his determination to make it up to Roy Harper.

Later, when he hears the Computer announcing their designation codes as they enter the cave, he stops, in the midst of training with Kaldur.

"Is she..." Kaldur speaks first and Artemis nods, looking worn out.

"She's okay." She chokes out. Wally zooms to the kitchen and returns with a tub of ice cream, and she gives him a weak smile.

"You forgot the spoons, doofus."

"I'll go get them!"

"No, wait." The blonde stops him before he can dash off. "I'll get it."

Before he can even protest, she walks off. Wally's shoulders slump and he lets out a sigh. "Who would've thought..." He mutters softly, and Kaldur pats him on the back.

"None of us expected this to happen."

"I'll go to the showers." Dane announces, and heads off. He feels Kaldur's gaze boring into his back; his best friend probably knows it's just an excuse for him to make sure that Artemis is alright.

She is staring down blankly into the utensil drawer as he enters.

"I'm sorry." He says, and she jerks out of her reverie, whipping around and relaxing when she realizes it's him.

"It's not your fault." Artemis tells him, leaning back on the kitchen counter. "Jade's fine now, anyway." She tries to keep a calm facade, but he can tell that she is still shaken by the earlier events of the day.

"I'm sorry." He repeats. "It was my mission. I shouldn't have- I was so desperate to find Roy that..."

"I know." She musters up a smile, but it carries sorrow instead of reassurance. He opens his mouth to apologize again, but she crosses the room and stops him by putting her hands on his shoulders.

"She's alright. And we're going to find Roy. Everything's okay, Dane." He looks into her gray eyes, and it is all he can do to not envelop her in his arms, to hold her close to his heart.

If only she would stop showing him such kindness, then maybe, he would stop aching for her.

She smiles again and he is glad that her smile is not as heavy with grief as it was before. She turns, her touch leaving him, and grabs the spoons from the drawer.

"I still think you should shave though, caveman." She tells him before she leaves the room, smirking.

After his shower, he faces the mirror, razor in hand, contemplating.

...If teasing him about his lack of grooming makes her feel better, then he figures it doesn't hurt keeping it this way.

He puts the razor down.

Another day, perhaps.


End file.
